Prizewinner at the Nureyev International Ballet Competition (Silver Medal,
Budapest 2000).Prizewinner at the International Ballet Competition in Paris
(Gold Medal, 2000).Prizewinner at the 9th International Ballet Competition
in Moscow (Gold Medal, 2001).

LEONID SARAFANOV was born in Kiev, Ukraine. He graduated from the Kiev State
School of Choreography in 2000 and became a soloist with National Ballet of
Ukraine the same year. In 2002 Mr. Sarafanov joined the Mariinsky (Kirov) Ballet
where he was a Principal Dancer until January 2011. Mr. Sarafanov is currently a
Principal Dancer at Nacho Duato's Mikhailovsky Ballet in St. Petersburg.

Mr. Sarafanov performed a variety of roles at the National Ballet of Ukraine,
including James in La Sylphide, Albrecht in Giselle, the Grand pas from Paquita,
DŽsirŽ and The Bluebird in The Sleeping Beauty, Siegfried in Swan Lake, the
Prince in The Nutcracker, Basilio in Don Quixote, the title role in Petrouchka,
and Escamillo in Carmen Suite. After joining the Mariinsky Ballet his repertoire
expanded to include Ali and Lankendem in Le Corsaire, Solor in La Bayadere,
Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, principal roles in William Forsythe's
Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, George Balanchine's Symphony in C (III
Movement), Theme and Variations, Four Temperaments, Tchaikovsky Pas Deux,Rubies
in Jewels, and Tarantella, and in Harold Lander's Etudes. He created the roles
of Ivan the Fool in Alexey Ratmansky's The Little Humpbacked Horse and Matteo in
Pierre Lacotte's Ondine. His repertory at the Mikhailovsky Theatre includes: Ali
in Le Corsaire; Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake; Count in Giselle, ou Les Wilis;
Prince Desire in The Sleeping Beauty; Basil in Don Quixote; Cipollino in
Cipollino; and Nacho Duato's Without Words.

In 2006 he made his debut as James in Pierre Lacotte's version of La
Sylphide at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

Mr. Sarafanov's awards include a Gold medal at the IX International Ballet
Competition in Moscow (2001); a Gold medal at the International Ballet
Competition in Paris (2000); a Silver medal at the the International Rudolf
Nureyev Ballet Competition in Budapest (2000), the Golden Mask (2010) in the
Best Male Dancer category for his performance in Edward Clug's Quatro. In 2006
he was awarded the Prix Benois de la Danse, as well as Ballet MagazineÕs Spirit
of Dance 2006 Award.